Bonsai growers in western Japan are trying to boost exports of a tree known as the "queen of bonsai" for the elegance of its leaves and trunk, mainly to Europe, to establish a global brand and revitalize the regional economy.
In August, 12 suppliers in Shikokuchuo, Ehime Prefecture, launched a group to promote overseas shipments of the akaishi goyōmatsu tree, which is native to the 1,706-meter Mount Higashiakaishi in the prefecture and suitable for bonsai.
The group, led by local grower and seller Junichi Moritaka, 60, who personally began bonsai exports to France in 2017, aims to start collective overseas shipments of the tree in around January and achieve annual sales of some 1,000 pots, worth more than ¥30 million ($278,000), by 2022.